{"product_id":"may-you-have-delicious-meals","title":"May You Have Delicious Meals","description":"\u003cb\u003eWINNER OF THE AKUTAGAWA PRIZE\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe power dynamics of the office are never more obvious than when it comes to food: mandatory lunches with the boss, the colleague who tries to curry favour with home-baked goods, discovering the discarded remnants of someone else's late-night binge . . .\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn their Saitama office,\u003cb\u003e Ashikawa \u003c\/b\u003eis the kind of woman \u003cb\u003eNitani \u003c\/b\u003eknows he will likely marry: sweet, obliging, and determined to wean him off his addiction to instant noodles. But he finds himself increasingly unable to respect her – or the sugary treats she shares around the workplace, winning their colleagues’ affection with baking rather than hard work.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOshio \u003c\/b\u003eis bolder and uninhibited – she is Nitani's drinking buddy. In the oppressive office atmosphere, the pair grows closer, both outsiders struggling with the rigid status quo.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eDriven to behave in increasingly absurd ways by the workplace rules that govern their lives, they must navigate the tensions of modern life: between leisure and hard work; indulgence and restraint; the promise of delicious food, and the reality of a lonely pot noodle.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003e'So bracing, so strange and humane . . . I loved it.' SHARLENE TEO, author of PONTI\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Funny . . . All the people in this novel are alive.’ HIROMI KAWAKAMI, author of STRANGE WEATHER IN TOKYO\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e‘Witty and sharp . . . I devoured it.’ NATALIE SUE, bestselling author of I HOPE THIS FINDS YOU WELL\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Books","offers":[{"title":"Bargain","offer_id":42858676322384,"sku":"9781804947357B","price":10.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0592\/8173\/5760\/files\/9781804947357-l.jpg?v=1787667661","url":"https:\/\/bookoutlet.com\/en-ca\/products\/may-you-have-delicious-meals","provider":"Book Outlet","version":"1.0","type":"link"}